Letter to my younger self

Dearest Jovan

As you enter this new and daunting phase of your life, I wish to impart some guidance that will prepare you for our journey ahead.

I am not going to warn you about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, the temptations of boys and sex or the inevitable homesickness that you will initially feel. I am not going to discuss the importance of your academics or the weight gain, trivially referred to as “first year spread”. Instead, I want to prepare you for a certain unexpected feeling that cripples you in the first few months of university, it is somewhat of a phenomenon that nobody seems to warn first year varsity students about.

This feeling is the feeling of sheer inadequacy. Most varsity students were used to being the “big fish in the small pond”; they were generally top of their classes and derogatorily called “over-achievers” in high school. As you enter varsity, you quickly notice that the “crème da la crème” of high school, just as you were, have all gathered at university, just as you have.

You begin to doubt and question yourself and every piece of praise that you ever received in high school. Panic pushes promptly past reality and you fall prey to your insecurities. For the first few months of university you will feel paralysed and overwhelmed.

The most important piece of advice that I can give you is to push past these insecurities and self-doubt. These feelings slowly fade with time as you become more comfortable and confident. Many students in the past have allowed this phenomenon to get the better of them and it has crippled them to the point of dropping out. I plead that you do not fall victim to it as your life after conquering these insecurities is well worth the battle.

Academics aside, first year is about the nights you won’t remember with the friends that you will never forget. Embrace the experience!

Stilettos, Sex and Shooters!

Much love
Jovy-Wovy xoxo